Christian Symbols

drawn by Rudolf Koch (1876-1934)
with the collaboration of Fritz Kredel (1900-1973)

From the book Christian Symbols (trans. Kevin Ahern; San Francisco: Arion Press, 1996).
According to the original wishes of the artist, with the permission of his estate, and due to the generosity of Andrew Hoyem (publisher of Arion Press),
all 158 images in the published collection may be used freely and without further permission.

The following images were compiled by Fr. Felix Just, S.J.
Most of the original German captions have been removed for easier use on this website.
You may freely use these digital images on your own webpages; but if you really like them or if you use many of them,
please also consider purchasing a copy of the complete book from Arion Press.

Categories:
Old Testament | New Testament | Monograms | Evangelists & Angels | Life of Jesus | Cross | Animal Symbols | Graphic Images


Old Testament


The Tetragrammaton
(YHWH: The Divine Name)

The Eye of God

The Lord is My Light

The Seven-Branched Candlestick

Noah's Ark

The Tablets of the Law

The Sacrifice of the Old Covenant


The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit

New Testament


The Church as a Temple

The Church as a Ship

The Divine Meal

The Word of God


Old and New Testaments

The Epistles of St. Paul

The Light Shines in Darkness

The Vine and the Branches

The Crown of Thorns

Two Columns from Milan

Alpha and Omega:
The Gospel Book Enthroned


The Mercy Seat

The Holy Trinity

The Holy Trinity

The Holy Trinity

The Monogram


Chi Rho
(Monogram of Christ)


Monogram from the Catacombs

Monogram of Christ
with I-C (Jesus Savior)

Sun-Disk Monogram

Monogram of Jesus

Monogram of Jesus

Jesus Christ Conquers

The Four Evangelists

Evangelists and Angels


St. Matthew

St. Mark

St. Luke

St. John

An Angel

Archangel Michael

Archangel Gabriel

Archangel Raphael

The Life of Jesus


The Nativity

The Baptism

The Temptation

The Wedding at Cana

Come Unto Me

Nine Beatitudes of the
Sermon on the Mount

The Feeding of the 5000

The Wise and Foolish Virgins

Jesus and the Seventy

The Last Supper

The Washing of the Feet

Jesus in Gethsemane

The Flagellation

The Crucifixion

The Empty Cross

The Deposition

The Cross


Romanesque Consecration Cross

Carolingian Cross

Jesus Sends Forth the Twelve

Lord, Have Mercy

Jerusalem Cross

Cross from Quedlinburg

Cross from St. Ludger in Helmstedt

Rex-Lux-Dux-Pax
(King-Light-Lord-Peace)

Tau Cross with Alpha and Omega

From a Romanesque Bell:
Christ and the Four Evangelists

Coptic Cross

Cross with Crown, Key, Sword, Hammer

Animal Symbols in the New Testament


The Pelican, a symbol
of Christ's sacrificial death

The Power of Darkness, Vanquished by Jesus Christ

The Lamb That Was Slain

The Lamb of the Passion


The Triumphant Lamb
& Book with Seven Seals

Greek ΙΧΘΥΣ (fish)

The Fish
(Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior)

The Heavenly Jerusalem

Graphic Images




Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior



Amate!  =  Love!


The Triceps
(Nordic symbol of divine power)

Endless Knot 
(German symbol of eternity)

Related Websites:


Thanks also to Patrick Carroll, one of my student assistants at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, who helped create a previous version of this webpage in 2000.

Return to the Homepage of Felix Just, S.J.

This page was last updated on April 2, 2016

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